Celtics-76ers Preview

By TAYLOR BECHTOLDPosted Mar 04 2013 10:36PM

Saddled with a grueling road-heavy schedule, things haven't come easy for the Boston Celtics since the All-Star break.

That's also been the case when they've had to travel to Philadelphia.

The Celtics will be coming off a much-needed three-day layoff when they attempt to end their road struggles against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.

Boston (31-27) dropped three of four to open a five-game road swing following the break before wrapping up the trip with a hard-fought 110-107 overtime win over Utah on Feb. 25.

The Celtics then limited red-hot Stephen Curry, who was coming off a 54-point effort at New York two days earlier, to 25 points on 6-of-22 shooting in a 94-86 home victory over Golden State on Friday. Paul Pierce led the way with 26 points and Jeff Green had 18 off the bench for Boston, which won for the third time in four games and sits in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics are in the midst of playing nine of 11 on the road.

"Every game is important from here on out because it could mean the difference between the eighth seed and the fourth seed," Pierce said.

While these division rivals conclude their season series Tuesday, they haven't played in almost three months. The 76ers were off to an 11-8 start the last time they met, but they've since lost 27 of 39.

Evan Turner had 26 points, including the winning shot with 3.9 seconds left, and Thaddeus Young added 17 and 12 rebounds to lead the host 76ers (23-35) to a 95-94 overtime win over Boston on Dec. 7. Including last year's postseason series, Philadelphia has won six of seven at home over the Celtics.

Kevin Garnett had 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting but failed to pick up a rebound for the first time since Jan. 21, 1997, and Green added 16 as Boston returned the favor with a 92-79 home victory the following evening. Garnett had a combined 36 points and 20 rebounds in the first two games against the 76ers.

Turner also had a big game with 25 points and 11 rebounds in a 106-100 win at Boston on Nov. 9, but he hasn't played nearly as well lately. He's averaging 12.5 points on 37.6 percent shooting in his last 14 games.

The 76ers have lost eight of nine following a 90-87 defeat at Washington on Sunday.

After scoring 49 while making 21 of 39 from the field in his previous two contests, Jrue Holiday will try to bounce back from a 14-point effort on 4-of-19 shooting. Holiday had 21 points and 14 assists in the win over Boston in November.

"I really feel like we do fight and come to play every single game," Holiday said.

Philadelphia, though, has averaged 86.9 points on 41.8 percent shooting over the last 12 games. It's not likely to be any easier against the Celtics, who have limited their opponents to 90.8 points in regulation over their last four.

Pierce is averaging 21.3 points in this season's series despite shooting 43.1 percent from the field. He's also scored 25.0 per game on 54.9 percent shooting in his last three overall.

Boston has averaged 86.0 points and hit 28.3 percent from 3-point range over its last seven visits to Philadelphia.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Pierce helps Celtics top slumping 76ers 109-101

By DAN GELSTONPosted Mar 05 2013 11:02PM

PHILADELPHIA (AP) So much for Boston's grim outlook once Rajon Rondo was lost for the season.

Avery Bradley has followed the trusted blueprint of dogged defense and impact scoring to help push the Celtics up the standings.

Bradley scored a season-high 22 points, and Paul Pierce had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 109-101 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.

Kevin Garnett scored 18 points to help the Celtics improve to 12-4 since Rondo was lost with a torn knee ligament. The Celtics entered in seventh place, but were no more than two games behind the next three teams ahead in the standings. Bradley was 10 of 15 and chipped in seven rebounds and five assists, the kind of numbers needed for the Celtics to slip into a coveted top-four spot for the playoffs.

"My teammates have confidence in me and I have confidence in myself," Bradley said. "When I have an open shot, I have to take it. That's how we play on this team. It helps us when I do that."

Led by Pierce, the Celtics controlled the game and used a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to seal the win. Last May, these two teams went to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. On Wednesday, the Sixers lost for the ninth time in 10 games and are well out of the playoff race.

Jrue Holiday had 18 points and 10 assists for the Sixers, and Thaddeus Young had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Evan Turner scored 18 points.

The Sixers beat the Celtics twice this season after stretching the Celtics to seven games in last year's playoff series. But the Sixers are a team in free-fall because of injuries and a roster ill-equipped to handle the losses of postseason standouts Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams.

There was some mild concern late in the fourth period when Holiday, their All-Star point guard, was hurt. Holiday grabbed his right ankle and hobbled back on defense after an awkward drive. He hopped on one foot after a steal attempt went nowhere, but did stay in the game.

Nothing much went right for the Sixers.

"We just missed too many easy shots," said Royal Ivey, who scored 10 points.

Like so many teams over the last 15 years, the Sixers had no real answer for Pierce. He hit his first four 3-point attempts, each one more crushing than the last. When the Sixers went on a mini-run to close within eight, Pierce and Jason Terry connected on consecutive 3s to build a comfortable lead.

Pierce had averaged 21.8 points over 54 career games against the 76ers.

At one point in the first half, both teams were 15 of 32 from the field. The Celtics found other ways to separate themselves from the Sixers: Boston went to the free-throw line and made 3s. The Sixers missed 9 of 11 3-point attempts in the first half and were 0 for 3 from the free-throw line.

The Sixers finished 5 of 21 on 3s and 14 of 18 on foul shots They did score 64 points in the paint.

But they only made 41 of a whopping 100 shots from the floor. The Celtics shot a solid 5 percent in the third (11 of 20) and 53 percent (10 of 19) in the fourth to methodically build to a 15-point lead.

"It was who could score the most. That's not the way we want to play the game," Garnett said.

Boston got sloppy at the end of the third quarter and had three turnovers in the final 90 seconds. That helped the Sixers score six straight points and slice the lead to five. Jordan Crawford opened the fourth period with a pair of 3-pointers that made it 91-76 and the Celtics never let up from there.

Crawford's points and production off the bench were needed for a veteran team with another game Wednesday night at Indiana. He scored 12 points and fellow reserve Jeff Green added 16. Pierce's perfection helped the Celtics go 11 of 19 from 3-point range.

"That's the new us in a lot of ways, the ball finds the open guy," coach Doc Rivers said. "It's simple, but it's hard to do unless you buy in. Everyone has bought in."

NOTES: Injured 76ers C Andrew Bynum (knees) was re-examined in New York on Tuesday by Dr. David Altchek. GM Tony DiLeo said surgery remained an option. ... Sixers G Nick Young (sprained left ankle) did not play. ... The 76ers will play two preseason games in Europe. They'll play Uxue Bilbao on Oct. 6 in Bilbao, Spain, and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Oct. 8 in Manchester, England.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Celtics 109, Sixers 101

THE FACTS:Avery Bradley scored a season-high 22 points, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett scored 18 points each and the Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 109-101 Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Jeff Green added 16 points and Jordan Crawford contributed 12 more off the bench. The Celtics won their third in a row and improved to 32-27.

Thaddeus Young paced the Sixers with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Evan Turner and Jrue Holiday scored 18 points apiece. Spencer Hawes added 14 while Royal Ivey, Dorell Wright and rookie Arnett Moultrie had 10 each. The Sixers fell to 17-16 at the Wells Fargo Center and 23-36 overall.

THE STAT: The Celtics shot 50.6 percent from the field. When the opposition shoots 50 percent or better, the Sixers are now 0-14 this season.

TURNING POINT: The Sixers crept within 79-74 after three quarters following a 6-0 run to close the quarter. But the Celtics responded with a 9-0 run to open the fourth, extending their advantage to 88-74. It was the sign of a veteran team and it was enough of a cushion to withstand a late run by Philadelphia.

HOT: Bradley knocked down nine of his first 10 shots and wound up 10-for-15. Garnett was 9-for-17 while Pierce was very effective, going 6-for-10.

NOT: Turner was 6-for-19, Holiday was 6-for-17 and Wright missed 10 of his 13 shots.

QUOTABLE II: "My teammates have confidence in me. I have to have confidence in myself and if I have open shots, I have to take them."-- Bradley

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Pierce had a terrific all-around game with 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Bradley was also stellar with 22 points, seven rebounds, five assists and one steal. Holiday had 18 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and four steals for the Sixers.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Though the Sixers have been struggling, there was still a major buzz inside the arena for this rivalry matchup against the Celtics. Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell attended the game.

QUOTABLE III: "It's frustrating to lose. Our effort was there. We communicated well. It was the little stuff that hurt us."-- Turner

GOOD MOVE: Rivers kept his players fresh with a steady stream of substitutions. Rivers was able to limit Pierce's minutes and the bench responded in a big way with 41 points.

BAD MOVE: The Sixers took too many 3-pointers (5-for-21) and probably could have penetrated to the basket more. They were 14-for-18 from the free throw line.

ROOKIE WATCH: Celtics center Fab Melo was assigned to the D-League while forward Jared Sullinger is out for the season following lumbar disc surgery. For the Sixers, Moultrie was solid with 10 points. Over the past four games, he is 12-for-12 from the field.

NOTABLE: Sixers guard Nick Young missed his third straight game with a sprained left ankle. ... Bradley reached the 20-point plateau for the sixth time in his career. ... Thaddeus Young recorded his third double-double over the past six games and his 15th of the season. He had one double-double all of last season. ... The Sixers tied their season high with 14 steals. ... The Sixers are 4-17 when allowing 100 or more points. ... All five Philadelphia starters reached double figures in scoring for just the second time this season. ... The Celtics led by as many as 15 points. ... The Celtics are 18-4 when scoring 100 or more points. ... The Sixers have forced 20 or more turnovers in two of the past three games.